Tuesday, November 30, 2004

MILITARISM ON THE RISE. I wonder: how long will America be known and feared for its new militarism? This is what we lead with now, isn’t it? Military might. Arms, war, violence. In the 1980’s, our nation began an unprecedented peace-time military build-up under Reagan. Now, in the name of “homeland security” and a nebulous “War on Terrorism,” George W. Bush has dramatically escalated militarism.

MILITARISM ON THE DOORSTEP. But militarism is no longer the nasty business America carries out overseas. It is now on our doorsteps. Militarism is the spirit and policies we encounter everyday in our hometowns and households. We see and sense that we are living more and more in a police state.

AN ADDICTION WE CAN’T SHAKE. The end of the Cold War engendered hope for a transformation of our economy’s heavy reliance on the military-industrial complex into peaceful, world market developing purposes. But apparently America’s leaders are addicted to militarism. Since then, they’ve used every excuse, every provocation, every conflict to rationalize and justify reinvestment in and new reliance upon military resources. Under our current leadership, there appears to be no end in sight.

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